Don't Play Hero
by Kate417
Summary: When Sam gets caught in the middle of a bank robbery, it's up to Jules to negotiate him and the other hostages to safety. However, the situation turns a lot more complicated than Team One had first thought. Jam themed, but Team fic. Set after "The Cost of Doing Business" in season 4.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Based on a Castle episode (Cops and Robbers, season 4), I decided to write a Flashpoint fiction where Jules and Sam replace Beckett and Castle in their respective roles and how the SRU would handle the same situation. Even though it is inspired from a Castle episode, it has absolutely no reference to the show itself. I only took the main plot and made it Flashpoint. So YES, is has a lot of similarities. YES, it is a JAM-centric story but not exclusively, there is quite a lot of Greg too, and the whole team of course. Not a very long first chapter, but it felt like a good moment to stop. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

"Hello?"

"Miss me?"

Jules' head shot up and she gave a few nervous looks around her, clearing her path before rushing further away, holding her mobile phone to her ear. "Sam!" she whispered in the phone. It was crazy how one single word could mean so much and imply many different emotions from the small brunette. Sometimes, she said his name happily, or seductively, even. But this time it had a whole other meaning and Sam could hear the reproach and the stress in her tone of voice. "I'm at the barn! What are you doing?" she carried on, keeping her voice low and her eyes actively seeking for anyone who could come her way.

Ever since they had decided to get back together, Sam and her had been more than cautious with exposing their relationship, especially now that Toth was on the entire team's ass and ready to break them up if _anything _at all didn't go accordingly. And their relationship was far from being part of the "accordingly" category. Sadly, this hard work to keep it a secret had recently been futile since Greg found out about their relationship the hard way. Jules cringed every time she was reminded of the face he pulled when Sam walked down the set of stairs. So if it had been important to keep it a secret before that, it was even more now because it wouldn't only compromise their own jobs but also the boss'. He'd given faith in them, they couldn't let him down.

"Chill, I was just calling to hear your voice and wonder how you slept," Sam said as he started pacing around. Jules could hear the smile in his voice, his words were full of meaning, filled with allusions and even she couldn't help but smile at the recollection of the previous night.

"Sam…" she said with reproach again, forcing her smile to disappear from her bubbling face. In this relationship, she had always seemed to be the most cautious in order not to get exposed while Sam was a little more… careless. Now that Greg had found out, she planned on keeping the team's headcount of who knew about their relationship at three.

Sam remained silent for a moment and Jules knew he was smiling. She shook her head slightly and gave a small roll of her eyes. Of course he would, he wasn't the one who would need to come up with a shitty excuse to explain that phone call if somebody overheard her conversation. However, another smile crept up on her lips and her face brightened as she collected her thoughts to answer his indirect question. She crossed her free arm around her chest and leaned back against the wall, making herself a little more comfortable.

"I slept amazingly, FYI," she said with the same childish smile on her features.

"Wonderful," Sam's voice came through and again, she could hear his grin with that one simple word.

"Are you still at the bank?" Jules questioned him after she had taken the time to fully let his response sink in. She was visibly more relaxed even though her senses were on alert for anyone coming and going around her. Speaking with him usually had that soothing effect on her.

"Yeah." In the bank, Sam leaned his shoulder against a wall as he observed people coming in and out absent-mindedly. He was in a narrow corridor that led to a few offices, one of which he had just came out of and he had a good vantage on the front door. "The bank manager is reviewing my financials but I should have no problem getting that loan." While he spoke, his eyes fell on a man coming inside the bank. He was wearing a long coat but underneath, his scrubs were obvious, especially since he had a surgical mask hanging around his neck.

Jules nodded. "That's great!" she said cheerfully, genuinely happy for him, especially since she knew what it all implied. He had been living in a small apartment ever since he settled in Toronto to work at the SRU and this loan would mean he could buy a house and settle down more permanently. There had been a few discussions about whether they would buy it _together _but Jules had tried as much as possible to avoid the subject. She wasn't comfortable with that just yet, especially not since their relationship was still prohibited. And of course it also implied a bigger commitment, one that she wasn't yet ready for. Or maybe she was and simply wouldn't admit it to herself. However, Sam had his mind set and would consult her before buying to make sure she approved of it so that later on, she could be a part of it too.

"Are you gonna be able to get here soon? We should start the drills shortly, I'm pretty sure Ed would like you to be there to try and kick your butt," Jules asked playfully, changing the subject and trying not to drag this conversation on. People would start asking questions if she disappeared from sight for too long. She could still hear the rest of the team chatting happily by the gym so she knew she still had a few moments before they grew suspicious.

Her question remained unanswered however as Sam's mind was elsewhere. Another apparent doctor came in the bank, dressed similarly to the first, except she was a woman. He frowned slightly as he tried to recall the last time he had seen even one single doctor in his scrubs still holding onto a surgical mask in a public place. And obviously the answer was never. Two of them was no coincidence.

"Sam?" Jules voice came in the phone after a moment of silence on his part, which brought him back to his senses.

Straightening up, he took a few careful steps towards the front simply to get a better view at them both. "I think this bank is about to get robbed," he said, ignoring her question completely.

Jules' brows furrowed. "What?" she asked even though she was sure to have heard him properly. "I know you love your job and all but not every situation has to-"

"Jules listen to me!" he cut her off and the seriousness in his tone surprised her to the point where she didn't speak another word. "I've got two people in scrubs with surgical mask around their necks and suspicious bumps in their jackets." As he kept observing them, he noticed they exchanged a look as the woman passed in front of the man to go stand in line for the cashiers.

Straightening up as Sam spoke, Jules listened carefully and judging by the way he explained what was going on in front of him, she had to consider this as a possibility. "Where are you?" she asked as she started walking back towards the main area.

"RBC Bank on Front," he said and before he could add anything else, a third man in scrubs entered the bank without even bothering to conceal his weapon. He rapidly clutched a U-shaped bike lock on the handles of the front doors to keep them from being opened and turned to everyone in the bank, holding his weapon high.

"Everyone down on the ground!" he shouted and commotion filled the room, people letting out small yells of fear, others complying silently. The two other robbers put their masks on their faces and raised their weapons as well to help contain everyone in the same small area. Sam backed up a little and moved to a more concealed spot where he could keep talking to Jules without them seeing him. He crouched down behind a desk and kept on observing the scene.

Upon hearing the commotion on the other side of the phone, Jules quickened the pace towards the reception desk. "Sam! What's happening?" she questioned with concern. Before he could answer, she was by Winnie's side. The smile on the dispatcher's face dropped rapidly and was replaced with a slight frown under Jules' rush. "Call the team, there's a bank robbery at the RBC on Front Street."

Winnie's confused expression met the officer's gaze. "How…?" she started but trailed off.

"Sam's in there," Jules responded. It took barely a second before the Hot Call alarm blared off in her ears. Winnie knew better than to question their judgment. While she was calling Team One, Jules concentrated on Sam again. At this point, she didn't care if anyone knew who she was talking to, they needed as much information as possible to get him out rapidly. "Sam, talk to me."

Sam kept his eyes on the scene, trying to remember every single detail of what the robbers were doing. If he wasn't getting out of there right away, he needed to feed as many details as possible to the SRU. "They're asking for everyone to throw their phones on the ground while one of them is emptying the contents of the registers," he started, keeping his voice low to avoid them seeing him. "They're putting everyone in a contained area to keep control over the situation. One of them is going for the manager." A beat. "He took a key from his neck. They're all carrying semi-automatics. Looks like 5.56 carbines."

Jules made a gun mimic with her free hand to indicate it was an armed robbery as she kept on listening to Sam.

"What's going on Winnie?" Greg asked as he approached the desk and the answer he got was a shrug from the dispatcher who then pointed at Jules holding her mobile phone.

"Armed bank robbery on Front. Sam's in there, that's all I know so far," Winnie said and Greg turned to his officer with a questioning look.

Jules held up a finger under her Sergeant's stare to pry him to wait for a minute. In the corner of her vision, she could see Ed, Spike and Raf approaching the desk as well. "How many?" she asked Sam.

"Three," Sam said, still keeping his voice low. "Two men, one woman." There was a soft click behind him before he felt the cool tip of a hand gun on the back of his head. He pursed his lips as a hand reached out in front of him, opened and palm up, obviously asking for the phone. "Make that four," Sam told Jules before unwillingly giving his mobile to the demanding hand.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: First of all, I want to thank all of you who took the time to review the first chapter, they mean so much to me. Reviews are like cookies, you can never get enough of them! I am very opened to constructive criticism as well, so feel free to let me know what you like or don't like whether it's in my writing or the way the story is itself. I was also surprised to see the number of people who started following this story already, I really hope you won't be disappointed and that it will live up to your expectations! _

_So here is chapter 2! Things are starting to build up, tension rises and well... read on and discover it for yourselves!_

* * *

The man brought the phone to his ear as he kept his weapon on the back of Sam's head. "Who is this?" he asked calmly. His voice was deep and throaty but his words were soft-spoken, like he had perfect control over the situation. Sam ventured a look towards him. He was tall and slender and even though he was wearing a surgical mask over his mouth and nose, Sam could see he had a long and thin face. He didn't look anything like a drug head or your usual desperate-for-money burglar. He was clean, hair cut short and his posture showed he had great self-confidence.

"This is Officer Jules Callaghan from the Strategic Response Unit," Jules responded without hesitation. There were two reasons for that: she was always told not to lie to a subject and she figured he might back down if he knew the cops were already onto them. "Who am I speaking with?" she continued.

Instead of giving her a response, the man looked down at Sam with a brow raised. "You called SRU?" he asked, still perfectly calm and in control. He seemed both annoyed and surprised by that fact, as if impressed that someone would have called that particular unit instead of 911.

Sam hesitated a little. "Actually, we were already on the phone when you came in," he answered truthfully.

The subject's brow remained up for a moment but then he took his concentration back on the woman on the line. "Jules?" he repeated. "And that's short for…?" he started and trailed off for her to fill in the blank.

Jules closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed nervously. When she opened them again, she could feel the 5 pair of eyes looking at her intently. She might already be in negotiation, they didn't want to make a move right away and she knew Greg was waiting for her cue. "Julianna." She hated the feeling that was building up inside of her at that moment, like that yet unknown subject was the one having control over her while it should be the other way around. She didn't know how Sam was, if he was still alright or if he would get in trouble for having had that phone conversation with her and it made her nervous, she feared it would cloud her judgement and her ability to negotiate.

"Julianna," the subject echoed slowly, pressing every syllable. He looked up thoughtfully as if trying to picture her. Sam's teeth clenched as he heard him say her name in such a way. After a moment, the subject nodded softly. "I like it."

Trying to remain calm and focused, Jules took a silent deep breath. "I told you mine, wanna tell me what's yours?" she asked again, trying to get some information out of him.

The man looked around him for a moment, as if weighting his options on what to tell her. "You can just call me Dr. John Seward for now."

Jules held back a roll of her eyes at the reference to _Dracula_. "Look, Dr. Seward," she started, her eyes locking with Greg's. She needed his support not only because he was lead negotiator and she always looked up to him but also because he was the only one aware of her current relationship with Sam and probably knew the state of mind she was in at that particular moment. Looking into his eyes not only gave her support but also his approval to take this into her own hands. For now at least. "Nothing has been stolen yet. No one's been hurt. How about you just leave right away and forget all about this?" She had chosen her words carefully in order not to lie to him but to also make him believe he'd be free if he cooperated.

Dr. Seward let out an amused snigger at her proposition. "And you will forget about it and let us disappear?" he asked.

Jules pursed her lips as she looked away. She figured that wouldn't fool him.

Under the officer's silence, Seward snorted and nodded slowly. "That's what I thought. No deal." He slammed the phone to the ground and stepped harshly on it, breaking it in pieces. "Well," he started, addressing to the whole room now full of hostages. "Police is on the way, looks like we'll get to know each other a lot better."

Jules slammed the phone on the desk out of frustration. "Line went dead," she announced as she brought both her hands to her face and brushed the little hair that wasn't in her ponytail back.

"Alright ladies, let's gear up!" Ed urged them as he himself led the way over to the locker room.

Spike and Raf quickly followed but Greg stayed with Jules for a moment. He brought a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Her eyes looked up at the man who she considered as a father and he had that compassion and comfort in them that she loved so much when times were hard. "You did great," he told her with a slow nod. "Let's go get him out," he said as his hand moved from her shoulder to her back as he gently pushed her to the locker rooms. She noticed how he said "him" instead of "them". Greg knew exactly what was on her mind and even though each time he referred to her relationship with Sam she had the feeling as if she'd betrayed him, she was glad that he was with her in this and that he had her back. It gave her the extra push not to deceive her boss and do the best possible job to resolve this and get the hostages out, including Sam.

* * *

The three black SUVs were riding through town in direction of the bank, their sirens blaring and adding to the rush hour chaos of a Thursday morning in downtown Toronto.

Raf was riding on his own while Spike had stepped in with Ed. Greg had suggested that Jules rode with him so they could discuss negotiations. She had filled all of them in on what she knew so far during the first few minutes of the ride.

"Spike, do you have the blue prints?" Ed asked once Jules was done.

"I'm working on it," he replied, his hands working swiftly on the keyboard in front of him. Ed took a quick look to his side to see how close he was to getting an image before concentrating back on the road.

On the queue SUV, Jules was staring out of the side window from the passenger's seat, thoughtful. She was pondering her options in her mind, trying to organize her thoughts and her feelings. It seemed like they had a rough situation ahead of them, and not only because Sam was a hostage. Of course, it didn't make it any easier. She hesitated a long moment before turning her head to look at Greg. He gave her a sideway glance just as she was turning off her talkie, understanding she wanted to talk without being heard. As he looked back ahead of him, his right hand moved over to his radio and he turned it off as well. However, he didn't say anything and simply waited for her to speak up her mind.

It took her a few seconds to find the right words to use and even as they came out of her mouth, she wasn't convinced of her choice. "I'd prefer if you could handle the negotiation." She marked a pause and waited for his reaction but Greg knew she had more on her mind and didn't respond in order to let her carry on with her thoughts. She pursed her lips as she faced his silence and looked away from him and through the side window again. "I know I started making contact with the subject but I don't feel like I can get my head into it fully and truly think straight." Her voice was small, part of her was ashamed to have to admit it and while she knew she could probably handle it, she was afraid to lose her temper if Sam's life became threatened and she didn't want to let the team down or risk innocent lives.

"Jules," Greg finally responded as he glanced at her again and just the way he said her name already seemed to make it all better. She didn't know how he did it but there was something soothing in his voice and the in way he looked at her that could always bring her comfort. "You're underestimating your abilities. You're a quick learner, you make an excellent negotiator. I know you can handle this whoever is in there right now."

Jules forced a smile on her lips as she looked at him but it soon faded. "Sarge, just as a precaution."

A moment of silence passed as they looked at her each other and Greg finally nodded slowly. "Alright." Again, there was a moment of silence before he turned his radio back on, as did Jules.

"… but from what I gather, there could be a way in through the ceiling," Spike voice came through as their talkies were on again.

"Good." Ed. As always, man of a few words.

The three SUVs pulled in right next to the perimeter the uniforms had established and soon, all of the SRU officers were coming out and going for the trunks to gear up. Greg walked over to Ed who was standing in front of the building with his hands on his hips, assessing the situation. Seeing the Sergeant by his side he voiced his thoughts. "Front windows are covered with blinds and the two front doors are frosted so we have no visual from here."

Greg simply nodded and Ed addressed to his team. "Spike, we have no visual from outside, see if you can tap in the bank's security cameras."

"Copy that," Spike said and he let Raf finish up with the gear, darting over to the command truck.

"Raf, I want you to try and access the bank through the ceiling, try to get ears in." Ed continued.

"The floor plan is on your PDAs!" Spike said cheerfully as closed the command truck's door behind him and went to sit on the chair and swiftly rolled himself towards the computer he would need to gain access to the cameras.

"Copy," Raf said as he finished gearing up, grabbing a few extra things that could provide them with sound from the room where the hostages were kept.

"I'll handle negotiation," Greg said and then turned to Jules who was walking their way. "Jules, what was the subject's demeanour?"

She frowned slightly at the recollection of that brief phone conversation. "Calm… actually. Very calm."

"Good," Greg said with a slow nod as he seemed to process the information. "See if you can get anything from witnesses that could have seen those robbers walk in the bank. We need IDs on those guys."

Jules nodded and quickly jogged towards a few uniforms closer to the building who were already speaking with by-passers.

Greg waited until she was a bit further before turning to Ed. "I don't like it, Eddie." With the police job came what could be discussed as being a sixth sense called the gut feeling. And at the moment, Greg's wasn't telling him anything good.

"Me neither," the Team Leader responded, his uncertain deep blue eyes remaining on the building.

They stayed silent for a moment before exchanging a look and turned into different directions, Greg going for the command truck and Ed for the trunk to gear up as he would take care of the front door.

"No joy," Spike's voice announced, a hint of disappointment in his tone. "I can't access the cameras inside. Looks like they weren't only disabled but the main wires were cut." He let out an audible sigh and scratched his head.

Greg came in the truck at that exact moment and closed the door behind him. He put a hand on Spike's shoulder who seemed to put way to much pressure on himself. "We'll get eyes in our own way," he said calmly.

"Spike, gear up and go join Raf. See what you two can do about it," Ed's stern voice come through their earpieces.

"Copy," Spike responded. He stood from the chair and gave Greg a smile and a simple nod before moving out of the command truck.

Greg found himself alone and he took a deep breath, ready to start his negotiation. "Winnie, patch me through the bank's phone."

* * *

Inside the bank, two subjects were pacing around the hostages who had been gathered in a sitting circle in the middle of the main open room, having a close eye on them, their weapons held tight in their hands. Two others were discussing a little further away, too far for Sam to hear what they were saying. He looked around himself at everyone's face. Most showed fear or even terror, a woman was crying and another was holding her own stomach and rubbing it softly.

No. She was actually holding her unborn child.

_Dammit_.

"Alright everyone," Sam started in a whisper, addressing to all of them. "Everything is going to be just fine. The cops are out there and they're gonna negotiate with the robbers and get us out." He had deliberately decided not to speak of the SRU or mention _subjects_ rather that robbers. He would rather keep his officer identity hidden for now and not risk one of the hostages letting out he was a cop. The subjects needed to be in the dark about that fact if he wanted to help his team as much as possible.

"Has anybody been hurt?" he continued, looking at them in turn as they all shyly shook their heads. "Good. Just stay relaxed and do as they say. We'll get through this."

* * *

"He was average height, maybe 5'10''? Short brown hair and brown eyes."

Similar description to the woman she had spoken to a minute before. "Anything specific? A tattoo, a birthmark, a piercing, a shiny piece of jewerly?" Jules asked, trying to get the woman's memory to recall something. Anything at all. However, all she got was a shake of her head. Jules' face almost dropped but she took a breath and nodded. "Thank you very much," she said, turning on her heels and looking up for anyone else who had seen something. Or nothing at all it seemed.

There was a click in her hear and Greg's voice came through. "Jules?"

"Boss, people remember seeing a man with scrubs but all I got so far is a mundane description. It could be anybody," she reported, looking down at her almost blank notepad.

"Jules I need you in the command truck."

His voice didn't let out anything but he seemed to completely ignore what she told him. She had a hard time figuring out what he needed her for but she knew better than to make him wait. "On my way," she said, the frown on her face probably audible in her voice.

As she opened the door and stepped in, Greg turned to look at her, both hands on his hips, a neutral face on. She stepped up the few stairs until she was levelled with him, trying to read through his expression.

"He will only speak to you," Greg announced. Both of Jules' eyebrows rose slightly in surprise as the Sergeant carried on. "I could barely get two words out before he requested to speak solely with you."

"Sarge, I-" she started, but he cut her off before she could carry on.

"You can do it. You _have_ to do it."

She hesitated and took a deep breath before nodding at him. He was right, she had to do it and get all of them out safely. So Sam was there? It was only another incentive to do her work as best as she could. She just had to keep her feelings for him away as long as she would need to resolve this situation. Greg's faith in her was enormous, she couldn't let him down. She couldn't let any of them down. Sam and her had sworn that nothing would change for the Team even though they were together, this was her chance to prove it.

Greg nodded back and stepped aside to let her sit. "I'm right here with you," he said as he stood behind her.

The bank's main phone rang and Seward picked it up. "Who is this?" he answered, still in the same calm demeanour.

"This is Officer Callaghan. I understand you wanted to speak with me."

"Yes," he said and Jules could hear the smile in his voice. "We started out on such good grounds, I figured we might as well continue the same way."

She was dying to remind him that he cutting the conversation short had interrupted these so-called "good grounds" but she knew better than to contradict him. _Keep him calm._ "Of course," she responded. "So can you tell me how everything's going in there? Everybody okay?" she asked, trying to keep her tone casual to match his but without forgetting the job at hand. She needed to make sure none of them were hurt.

Seward took a look back at all of his hostages. Some of them were staring at the ground, other looking at him and waiting to hear what would be in store for them next. One of them was giving him an intense stare, almost as a challenge. The subject's eyes locked with Sam's and a smile crept up his features before he answered the female officer's question. "Everyone is just fine for now," he said.

Jules didn't fail to pick up the "for now" part but decided to ignore it and move on the negotiations to keep that moment from happening. "That's good, thank you for that. So what can we do to resolve this?"

A snigger escaped Seward's throat and he started pacing around the room, phone in one hand and weapon in the other. "You're running that playbook, aren't you? Everything you learned with the SRU. Keep him calm, build rapport, extract information, give him what he wants but lead him straight into a trap afterwards?"

"We're just discussing here, Dr. Seward," Jules started but she couldn't finish her thought before he spoke again.

"Listen, I know how you people work. And here's how _I_ work," he said as he kept on pacing. "Lie to me, I kill hostages. Jerk me around, I kill hostages. Storm in the bank, I kill hostages." He marked a pause as he stopped pacing and crouched down in front of Sam, holding his weapon to the blonde's chest. "Oh and Julianna." A beat. Sam's eyes narrowed into a glare and he held the subject's stare silently. "I'll start with your boyfriend."

The line went dead.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Here's the next chapter, you guys! I know some of you were worried about the "boyfriend" part, hope this is satisfying enough for you. Things are starting to evolve but many questions remain. Would love to hear your thoughts on it. _

_Thanks a lot for your continuous support and I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

As their connection was lost, Jules teeth clenched and she leaned back in her chair, shutting her eyes tight. Her hands went to her forehead and her eyes slowly opened, staring straight at the truck's ceiling.

One of the reasons why she had been so reluctant to start over her relationship with Sam was because she could not afford to _need_ him. And now that she did, it was an unsettling feeling. She had never needed anyone in her life before, at least not on such a personal level, and even though she couldn't say she relied on him in any way, she couldn't imagine her life without him anymore. And now the only thought of Sam being the first possible victim of this hostage situation was troubling her. Way more that it would with someone she didn't know, more than any other of her team members. She was the only one who could get him out seeing as the subject would only speak with her. It was a lot on her shoulders but she could take it. There was no way she would compromise the safety of all those people because of her feelings, especially since it also included Sam.

"Team One."

Greg's voice next to her brought her back to reality and she straightened in her chair. For a moment, she had forgotten she wasn't alone in this situation and she felt a slight pang in her heart as she replayed the conversation in her mind. Thankfully, the call had been patched through only the Sarge and her, meaning the rest of the team hadn't heard the "boyfriend" part. Of course, there was no way the subject could have known for a fact that Sam and her were romantically involved so on his part, it was mere speculation. But hearing him describe Sam as such might have raised suspicion among the team and Jules would rather avoid that.

"Subject has not made any requests so far but he's getting a little hostile," Greg continued. "Do not engage. And be very careful, we might be dealing with professionals here."

A few 'copy' responses were heard. Jules gave a look up at Greg who was still standing next to her, grateful that he had left out the last part of her conversation with the subject. As his gaze met hers, there was a question in his eyes, asking her about her thoughts on his last supposition about them being professionals.

"He seemed to know our drill. He's still amazingly calm," Jules started. She marked a pause and frowned slightly, her eyes dropping to the computer screens and staring at them absent-mindedly as she jumbled the puzzle pieces in her mind. "They came in prepared, rapidly taking control over the building…" She trailed off and looked back up at Greg who was slowly nodding, seemingly agreeing with her. "They aren't some low life criminals. They want something bigger. Bigger than money."

"But what?"

Greg's question remained unanswered.

* * *

"They'll never let us go."

"We should try and make a run for it."

Multiple hushed voices.

"Are you insane!?"

"Why didn't they just take the money and leave?"

"Police will never give them what they want."

All of these arguments and frayed nerves' discussions were starting to give Sam a headache. He was all up to try and help them get through this, keep them calm and posed as to not annoy the hostage takers, but there was only so much he could do. They were all agitated. With reason, of course. There were guns waving dangerously around them and any wrong move from the outside world could risk their lives. Even though he was used to situations like these, being held hostage wasn't something Sam particularly enjoyed, especially since he found himself being powerless and causing Team One to be one man down.

A finger pointing at him accusingly brought him back to the conversation at hand.

"Why did you have to play hero and call the police while they specifically asked us to hand in our phones? It's because of you that we're still stuck here."

A few heads nodded in agreement, others looked at him with compassion. Sam's brows rose higher in slight surprise as he looked at the man who had accused him of being responsible for their predicament. _Most likely it's because of me you'll get out of this_, he thought but obviously didn't say. "Look, I know this isn't a comfortable situation for any of us but if we are to get out of this – and we will – we need to work together and be strong as a team, alright? We are against them, not against each other."

"Besides they're the ones who screwed up," the pregnant lady interjected. Sam noticed her RBC nametag for the first time. _Ellie Pearson._ She must have been a cashier. "They pulled the last bills in the cash registers. That automatically triggers a robbery call to the police," she added, the last part spoken in a lower voice.

Sam eyes moved from her and to the whole group, looking at them in turn. Both their speeches seemed to content most and the accusing man relaxed his shoulders and gave him a soft nod both in refrain and understanding. As Sam glanced up at the robbers to make sure they weren't listening in, he saw two of them move towards the back of the bank, including Seward who held the manager's key in his hand. Sam leaned in slightly towards the manager who was sitting on the floor next to him.

"What's behind the offices back there?" he asked, keeping his voice low, his head motioning to where the two subjects had gone.

The manager looked in that direction, following Sam's gaze. "Restroom, breakroom, security room. And the safety deposit box vault," he answered.

At that moment, a thought flashed in Sam's mind. Quickly, he stood up and it earned him a rapid response from the female subject. She aimed her weapon at him and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice menacing.

Oddly, Sam's first thought was to wonder if Jules ever had that same menacing effect when she was issuing an order to a subject she held at gunpoint. And the answer was that she did, he had actually been confronted with it the very first time he spoke to her after the incident at the First York Plaza. Sam's mind could replay those events over and over in his head as it had not only been the first time he met Jules but also the moment she had lit a spark in him that he would keep fighting for in order to be with her. But now wasn't the time for that. So without giving it more thought, he slowly raised his hands at shoulder height in surrender. "If we're gonna be here a while, maybe we should start planning restroom rounds," she said in response to the woman.

It took a moment for her to process that information before she turned to her nearby partner. With only a look, they came to an understanding. She lowered her weapon and jerked her head to the side, indicating him to move first toward the restrooms.

"Thank you." Sam lowered his hands and started walking towards the end of the bank. He moved at a slow pace across the corridor and once the safe deposit box vault was in sight, he was glad to see it was secured with metal bars that resembled a prison cell rather than a closed restricted area, meaning he could properly see what was going on inside. He observed it with great attention as he walked past it, trying to remember every single detail until the woman's weapon in his back forced him to move quicker. He soon reached the restroom's door and they both disappeared inside.

* * *

"Turns out Spike's description of ceiling forgot to mention it was through ventilation," Raf said as he crawled through the confined space. "It's a good thing I didn't finish that brownie cake last night," he added with sarcasm as he gave himself a long push forward.

"I never said it was an easy access," Spike said in his defence, a smirk showing on his features as he was standing out of the ventilation system, covering Raf while checking out the bank's floor plans on his small iPad screen and his teammate's location moving through it. "Make a right," he told him.

Raf couldn't help but roll his eyes as he followed Spike's command and moved to the right.

"You should be right above them in about 4 meters," Spike continued as he stared down on the small screen.

As usual, Spike had been more than precise in his indications. Raf found himself staring down at the group of hostages through the grillage ceiling ventilation trap. "I'm here," he whispered, making sure he was not heard by anyone below. His eyes moved quickly around the small crowd, trying to spot one hostage in particular. "I have no visual on Sam," he announced, again in a whisper.

However, his whisper was well heard by every member of the team.

In the command truck, Greg didn't fail to see Jules go a bit rigid but she didn't dare speak. They exchanged a silent look.

"Can you set up the camera?" Spike asked. Before going down, he had given Raf an optical fibre snake camera they could conceal easily and that would provide them with eyes in. Clicking a button, Spike activated the camera and a completely black image appeared on his iPad screen. He gave a slight frown before the image changed and he saw Raf's large face come on the screen. Flipping the wire, Raf angled the camera so they could see below. "Alright, just like that," Spike said as the image stopped on the group of hostages. He could also see one subject pacing around them. "Sending the signal to the command truck," Spike announced and seconds later, one of the screens in the command truck came to life.

Jules eyes scanned the small crowd quickly looking for a familiar face in case Raf had not seen properly. However, Sam was indeed nowhere in sight. She felt a slight tingle in her heart even though she knew they would probably have been aware of it if he had been injured, she still felt more than worried about his well being.

"Sam's coming back," Raf's low voice came through.

As the tall blonde figure she knew so well came into sight, it was as if she started breathing again. She tried as much as possible not to let show the overwhelming sense of relief she currently felt but having Greg in her back, she knew it was dumb to think she would manage to conceal it from him. The man could read her too well.

"Any way we can give Sam access to an earpiece?" Ed's voice came on the line. He had followed the entire conversation even though he was outside with the uniforms, checking the front of the bank.

Raf looked below again. The hostages were in the middle of the room with at least one subject looking at them, the ceiling was too high to lower a piece without going unnoticed. "Not a chance without risking being seen," he whispered again.

Ed took a moment to assess this situation. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Spike, can we still get ears in?"

"Yeah, we'll just need a few minutes," he answered. "Raf, get back to the first split. I'll hand you the device."

"Great…" Raf muttered as he crawled back carefully.

* * *

As the female subject led Sam back to the hostages group, he gave a few looks around to try and see if anything had changed, if the SRU had managed to gain any kind of access in the room. He thought about the ceiling, but he didn't want to risk looking and alerting the subjects that something could be going on. They already knew he had some sort of ties with the SRU even without knowing he was actually one of them.

"Who's next?" the lady asked a little roughly. It didn't seem like this back and forth arrangement to the restroom suited her well.

"I am," one of the hostages quickly responded and he stood just as fast. As he sat down, Sam noticed it was the man who had accused him of putting them all in this mess a few minutes before. Well, it didn't seem like he was against all of his ideas after all. Sam's eyes followed them until they got out of sight and then he shot a furtive look over to the other subject pacing around them. Leaning in, he tried to grab all of the hostages' attentions. Most of them looked over at him.

"There are no way out leading to or through the bathroom. Only way we're getting out of here is with the cops," he said purposely not mentioning the SRU. He still didn't want anyone to know he was a part of it. He took a moment before he turned his attention to the bank manager. "I saw them take a key from you earlier. Does that open the safety deposit boxes?"

"Partly," he responded in a hushed voice, making sure the subjects wouldn't hear their conversation. "Safety deposit boxes require a personal key plus mine to be opened. They can't do it unless they have one too."

Sam recalled what he had seen in that vault. "They did have one box out," he started and a general look of confusion appeared on all of the others' faces. He marked a pause and pursed his lips slightly. "There's a vault full of cash leading to the restrooms and it's been left untouched. If they're professionals, they should have known taking the last bill in the cash registers would trigger an alarm, unless," he continued, pressing on the last word, "having hostages was only a cover up, giving them enough time to find the right box and take its contents."

A few people exchanged looks. Sam knew it was speculation and a long shot, but it was pretty much all they had for now. The manager looked thoughtfully in the direction of the safety deposit box vault even though they couldn't see from their position. Sam continued. "They took the fourth box from the right on the far end wall, sixth down."

The manager thought for a moment, his brows furrowed as he calculated. "That would be… box 178."

"Any idea who it belongs to?" he asked and in response, the manager shook his head softly. Sam couldn't blame him for not knowing but he had to figure out a way to get the message across to the SRU as it could bring them closer to figuring out who the subjects were and eventually, get them all out safely. He trusted his team with his life and he knew they were currently doing everything they could to solve this but he couldn't help but be annoyed by the fact that he was stuck inside without being able to give them a hand.

His mind wandered back to a call they had the previous year when his and Jules' roles had actually been the opposite. She had been stuck inside a restaurant held hostage by a delusional man while he was outside getting worried sick over her safety. Of course at this point she hadn't been _his_ since she was dating Steve but his feelings for her had not been any different. He found herself wondering how she was holding up out there, knowing he was stuck inside and in possible danger. But Sam was surely glad she wasn't the one inside this time around. He could handle himself being hurt, but he couldn't handle seeing her in harm's way, at least not more than she already did on the job. He could already picture her rolling her eyes at him if he admitted that and then tell him off for worrying about her. A small smile appeared on his lips for a moment before he forced it away.

He still had a message to get to them somehow.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Sorry guys, it took longer for me to post this chapter than I would have hoped. But here it is. It's not the longest but I'll probably put the next one up in just a few days to make up for it. Thanks for being loyal and to keep reading, I love reading your reviews in return! Can't wait to see what you guys have to say about this chapter!_

_And kudos to KevinxoShelley who right on spotted how Sam would communicate with the Team._

* * *

The bank's phone rang and Seward picked it up from his position in the safety deposit box vault. "RBC bank, how can I help you?" he answered with a smirk.

"Dr. Seward, this is officer Callaghan," Jules responded, ignoring his lame sense of humour. "I'm just wondering how everybody is doing in there."

"Everybody's just peachy," he responded, taking the contents off the safety deposit box with his free hand. He picked up a piece of paper and unfolded it with two fingers to look at what was on it before putting it aside.

Jules stared at one of the screen in front of her as it showed the picture of a woman with RBC employee information. "I'm a bit concerned about that pregnant bank-teller, Ellie. It's quite a stressful situation, you might want to consider letting her out of there."

Greg was standing behind her in the command truck, leaving her some space to work but showing he was there in support if she needed it. He wasn't going to tell her anything unless she wanted him to. She was learning fast the roots of negotiation, she could handle this one on her own even though Sam was stuck inside. He simply settled to listen and take it all in for now. Anything the subject said might eventually be useful for them.

Both the boss and Jules heard a soft snort from the other side of the phone. "Before I give, I need to receive, Julianna." She took a silent breath as he used her full name again. Somehow, it made his threats seem even more real, like he was figuratively this close to her to use a name no one ever called her by anymore.

"Alright, what can I do?" she asked, knowing this was probably the start of complicated negotiations. She needed to keep this to their advantage and lead him to think he would get whatever he wanted without ever lying to him.

"I want a bus with tinted windows," he started without a single hesitation. "It will lead us to John Munro airport where a plane will be waiting to bring us to a destination of my choosing. I'll take the hostages along in the ride until I reach the plane and once I'm sure we're heading off free, I'm letting them go."

Before she gave him any answer concerning his demands, Jules pressed on. "How about the pregnant woman?" she asked.

"She'll be free to go when my bus gets here, as a token of good faith," he continued, placing the deposit box back in it's original slot and locking it in place.

Jules exchanged a look with Greg. It was actually the first time she had to put up with such high demands on her own and even though she knew they were extravagant, she didn't have much of a choice. "I'll see what I can do," she responded, again her response remaining vague.

"You have three hours," he added before cutting the line, letting her know he had not given her a choice but a rule to follow.

"Winnie, find me a bus with tinted glass, get it here as soon as you can," Greg's voice spoke in the earpiece as soon as the call had been disconnected.

"Copy that," came Winnie's voice in response.

Jules spun on her chair to look up at her Sergeant. "Use the bus to lure them out," she said more as a statement rather than a question.

He nodded in response. "Until we find a better solution," he added as an afterthought.

Their eyes locked for a moment as they both contemplated the situation. She still had high concern for Sam but she knew he could handle it, they also had a lot of innocents to bring home safely. She wondered how they were all doing in there and again, spun on her chair so she could see the image from the camera Raf had managed to install. They yet had to get ears in but at least, they could see what was going on.

Her eyes fell on Sam. He was looking ahead absent-mindedly, his hand drumming on his thigh. She found herself starring at it, trying to figure out what kind of song he could have stuck in his head at that exact moment. But then she figured he wouldn't. His mind would be too focused on trying to help them, on trying to find a tactical plan of his own. She frowned slightly, maybe that was exactly what he was doing. Her eyes remained on the screen, staring at his hand, trying to figure out what kind of message he was trying to send until she saw a pattern coming back over and over again.

Quickly, she grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and started scribbling down what she could read from his gesture. Seeing her quick motion, Greg leaned in over her shoulder and watched her cautiously as she wrote letters and numbers down.

7. 8. S. D. B. 1. 7. 8. S. D. B. 1.

"What is it?" Greg asked after a moment.

"Morse code," she responded, an immense pride for her boyfriend rushing through her body for having thought of this. "He keeps repeating that. 178 SDB."

"SDB?" Greg echoed while Jules kept scribbling on the paper, using those three letters as acronyms, writing down brainstorms of what they could stand for. So far, she had Same Day Bank, Second Dead Body, Safe Deal Breaker then Safe Deposit Bank. "Safe deposit box," Greg thought out loud. "Safe deposit box 178," he repeated.

Jules dropped the pen and her fingers started drumming on the keyboard in order to access information on who owned deposit box number 178. Information filled the screen and Jules' eyes scanned through it. "Owned by an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Pearson," she said out loud for the benefit of the rest of the team who had probably followed their conversation as well as for the transcript. "Records say they access it monthly," she added.

"Check into it, see if they have records, anything that could help us narrow down who these guys are. If Sam bothered to send a message, it has to mean something."

Continuing her research, Jules opened a page and backed away from the screen slowly, her brows furrowed in confusion. Greg leaned in to see. It was a certificate of death. "George Pearson, died from a heart attack 4 years ago," she said as she read the certificate.

"Means whoever was accessing the box wasn't him."

"Apparently Mrs. Pearson won't be accessing it anymore either," Jules added a little darkly as she brought up another page on screen. "She was found dead in her house less than a week ago. Place had been completely trashed down," she continued as she read the police report, Greg still looking at the screen over her shoulder. "Coroner thinks the COD might have been asphyxiation. I don't have any more details for now, it's still an on-going investigation as we speak."

Greg nodded slowly, thoughtful. "We need to look into this, it can't be a coincidence," he said. "Winnie?"

"Copy that," Winnie's voice came through in response, knowing too well he wanted her to do some research on the matter.

Jules' eyes moved from the computer screen and over to the one showing images of what was going on inside the bank. Her eyes fell on Sam who was still drumming the code on his thigh. This might be the break they needed to get him out of there, all of them. "Thank you," she mouthed.

* * *

Sam hoped somehow the SRU had managed to see his signal, he thought they probably figured out a way to have eyes in at this point, either by the surveillance cameras or any other way possible they could figure out. His drumming stopped when the last hostage to have gone to the bathroom returned. Sam's eyes remained on the man as he sat back with the group, he seemed paler than before. They all remained silent for a moment until the female subject moved a little further along with her partner.

The man gave them furtive looks and then swallowed hard before turning to Sam. "On my way back," he started in a hushed voice, making all of the other hostages lean in and listen. Again, he swallowed nervously. "I saw they have tons of these sort of white packages, looks like they are wired. I think it's C4."

At the mention of C4, it seemed like the whole group froze for a second. One woman let out a small gasp and clamped her hand over her mouth, a man's eyes widened and shook his head in awe, another man's brushed his hair with his fingers nervously. They all had their own personal reaction to the news. Sam's was to purse his lips and work his mind to again figure out a way to let the SRU know.

"They're gonna kill us," the same man continued, this time panic filled his voice. "I have a family!"

Panic was usually contagious and spread like wildfire. This time was no exception. The others exchanged looks but before it could go out of control, Sam grabbed their attention again. "Hey, calm down," he said to the man softly, putting a hand on his arm. "What's your name?" he asked him.

The man hesitated for a moment, regarding him with concern filled eyes. "Josh."

"Josh," Sam repeated. Already, the group seemed a bit calmer, or at least they were listening. "Do you have any children?"

He nodded at first, then he responded. "Yes, a son. Adam," he added, the ghost of a smile appearing on his lips as if thinking of him was already soothing.

"I bet all you can think about is seeing him again, right?" Sam continued.

"You have no idea," Josh responded, this time the smile was clear on his face even though it was shadowing his anxiety.

Sam nodded slowly. "Alright, hold on to that thought. I promise you we'll figure out a way to get out of here." He knew calming one of them would probably help the others as well, especially since in the beginning Josh had been the one to transmit his negative emotions onto the others.

"Why would they have C4?" another one asked after they all grew silent.

Sam's head shot towards the corridor that led to the safety deposit boxes. "Probably to make sure no one ever knows what they took from that box."


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Okay, so I promised a chapter by the beginning of the week. And that didn't happen. I'll stop making promises so I'll also stop breaking them. haha. Thanks to all of your for your patience.  
_

_Again, I'm blessed with all your good words. I'm glad to see people are impatiently waiting to read more! Hopefully this chapter is to your liking._

* * *

"Where are we on the ears?" Ed's impatient voice came through the earpiece.

"Almost there," Spike quickly responded, knowing better than to make him wait. Raf had gone back into the vents that led right on top of the hostages. Moving along those tight spaces was even harder when he had to hold the sound magnifier. "I'll patch it through as soon as we're in position," Spike added.

"Copy," Ed responded. His eyes moved back to the building. He could hear the commotion around him, civilians kept gathering around the secure perimeter despite the uniforms' best efforts to keep them away. He could understand why it picked their curiosity but if only they knew how serious and dangerous this situation actually could get… People watched too much television. This voyeurism was pure sensationalism, nothing else.

His head shot back when he heard footsteps behind him and saw Greg coming his way. He then looked back at the building.

"I know patience was never your forte," Greg started, giving him a knowing look. "But that's all we can do, here."

Ed narrowed his eyes slightly at that thought. "I know."

"We're in position!" Spike announced rather cheerfully. "Patching through."

They all shifted slightly as the sound from inside the bank filled their earpieces, all of their concentration now solely trying to ear anything that could help them solve this situation. They couldn't barge in the bank, it would risk the hostages' safety. Picking up conversations might be their only way to help them negotiate, or understand better the reason why they were doing this robbery. There was still this safety deposit box ordeal that needed to fit into all of this.

* * *

Sam shot his watch a look, they've been trapped inside the bank for over an hour already but it seemed like it had been much longer than that. He hated to be powerless, normally he would have been with his team, trying to find solutions to get hostages out of there safely. He hated not to be able to give them his input. But on the other hand, they probably would not have known about the safety deposit box it if wasn't for him being inside. That is assuming they _did_ get his message. Now he needed to let them know about the C4. In Morse code again, perhaps? What if they couldn't see him? Having the C4 information was a lot more important than the deposit box. These people's lives might actually depend on it.

He shot a look towards the front of the bank. Everything was barricaded, now way he could get a message to them through the windows, at least not without the subjects seeing him. He took a breath and started drumming on his thigh again, at least it was a temporary solution until he found a better one.

He wasn't even done with the first C when Josh abruptly went on his feet and started mumbling something. Sam looked up at him while the two subjects around them pointed their guns at the man. He was stumbling, white foam was coming out of his mouth.

"Don't shoot!" Sam urged and stood to follow Josh while he collapsed on the ground. "Don't shoot!" he repeated as he knelt down next to him. "He's having a seizure!"

With the commotion, the two other subjects came back from the vaults. The rest of the hostages straightened up and exchanged a few words with concern.

"What's going on?" Seward barked.

Josh's body went completely rigid as he laid back on the floor. Sam unbuttoned his shirt around his neck and quickly checked his wrist. A medical bracelet indicated that he was epileptic. "He's having a grand mal seizure," he said for their sake, however his eyes remained on the man. He didn't know much about seizures but he knew they needed to get him to a hospital, or at least checked out.

Soon after, his body starting convulsing with violent muscle contractions. Sam backed up a little, he knew he shouldn't try and restrain him as it may hurt him more. The sight was rather intense for anyone who'd never seen someone go in seizure before. He gave a quick glance behind him towards the group of hostages and then up at the subjects. One of them walked their way. "Stay back, he needs space," Sam instructed with a hand up to make him stop and the subject halted. Sam turned his attention back on Josh.

His convulsing ended and he lost consciousness. Sam simply put a hand over his arm for comfort in case he gained it back quickly. He shot a look back towards Seward. "Unless you're real doctors, this man is going to need to go to the hospital."

* * *

Commotion in their earpieces alerted them that something was wrong. Greg and Ed exchanged a quick look.

"Jules, what's going on?" Greg asked quickly.

Jules had remained in the command truck to keep an eye on what unfolded in the bank. Her eyes followed the stumbling man, trying to understand what was happening. They could hear Sam prying the subjects not to shoot, then mentioning something about a seizure. "One of the hostages collapsed!" she urged.

"We're gonna need EMTs stat!" Greg himself urged towards one of the ambulance that had been brought on stand by in case people got injured. Two medics quickly moved to the back and started gathering equipment and took out a rolling gurney. "Jules, we need to get him out," he added.

"Copy," she said, knowing he needed her to negotiate this through. However, she also knew the subjects weren't supposed to know they had eyes and ears in and she couldn't risk compromising that. She counted on Sam to know that and bring Seward to give her a call.

She carefully watched the screen and listened in. "He's having convulsions," she said for the rest of the team's sake. Then he seemed to lose his consciousness and they heard Sam mentioning he needed to go to the hospital. A soft smile appeared on Jules' face mirroring her pride towards her man as she saw Seward reluctantly reach for the phone. "Incoming call," she announced.

"You go ahead, Jules. I'm on my way," she heard Greg over the earpiece.

She patched the call through. "This is officer Callaghan," she said, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

"We seem to be having a problem in here," he started.

Jules felt a shift in his voice in comparison to the last time they had spoken. She let a soft smile slip on her lips, she could hear in his voice that he was losing control over the situation, and she loved it. Everything was not going as he planned and that was a chance for them to see an opening and take it. Greg entered the command truck at that moment, in time to catch a glimpse of her expression. She remained silent, waiting for the subject to fill in the silence.

Seward shot a look towards Sam and the man still lying unconscious on the ground. "One of the hostages just had a seizure, he needs to go to the hospital. Normally I wouldn't care but because the other hostages are starting to get upset and since I don't want anybody here to try and play hero, I will allow you to bring in one medic and take him out. In exchange for my good behaviour, I want that bus in 20 minutes."

Greg shook his head for Jules' sake even though she already knew that was impossible. "I'm afraid that's not enough time."

"Then I'm afraid this man can't leave," Seward responded sternly.

It seemed like he had gained back control. _Dammit_. Jules hesitated and gave Greg a look. He didn't say anything or gave her any kind of sign, this was her negotiation and he wanted to let her deal with it for now. "I can have it here in one hour. And I'm sending a tactical trained officer along with the medic."

"20 minutes, the medic only. Else I start popping hostages."

Unwillingly, Jules felt her teeth clench. He was a hard negotiator, definitely not your regular every day inexperienced bank robber. She knew she was going to lose this if she didn't give him something. Sam was in there, trained tactically, they had staff outside to back the medic…

"30 minutes, the medic only," Jules proposed.

There was a short silence on the other side of the phone and she stopped breathing as she waited for his answer. Again, she looked up at Greg but his expression was unreadable. She needed his support and he wasn't giving out any clue as to what he thought which brought a hint of annoyance in her. She was usually good a reading him too.

"Deal," Seward's response finally came.

Jules silently let out the breath she'd been holding. Her Sergeant held his hand open at her. "We'll send the medic in 5," she said, voicing Greg's sign.

As the line closed, she sighed loudly, leaning back in the chair.

"Winnie, get that bus here as fast as you can," Greg spoke, the urgency clear in his tone. He then put a hand on Jules' shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. She looked up at him and he simply nodded, giving her his silent approval. "Eddie, get ready to send that medic in," he continued. "We need to see if we can get a vantage when we open the door, try to see as much as possible inside in case we need to storm the bank.

"Copy that," Ed's voice came through. "Spike, Raf, I need you on the ground with me."

Jules regarded Greg for a moment while the rest of the team exchanged tactical instructions. She hesitated as to whether she would go out there and provide them support but she figured they needed someone in the command truck to keep visual on the scene inside. "We can't possibly let them leave in that bus," she spoke after a moment.

In response, Greg simply shook his head.

"So what then?" she asked maybe too quickly, her emotions for one of the hostages held in there showing through.

"We wait to see how it turns out with the medic. Then we'll have 20 minutes to figure something out."

* * *

As Greg got out of the truck, he saw people moving quickly to get ready by the front doors. Ed, Spike and Raf were already in position, weapons up and aiming at the doors. The chosen paramedic was standing by their side with a gurney.

Once next to them, Greg recognized the medic as Steve. He walked up to him and gave him a pat in the back as a genuine smile appeared on his lips. "Steve," he greeted and the paramedic nodded in response. Aside from him dating Jules the previous year, Greg didn't know the man much but he trusted him to do his job. It wasn't his first professional encounter with the SRU and it probably wouldn't be his last either. He knew how they operated, he knew how to act around subjects too since he had ended up being caught up as a hostage with Jules. Not only caught up but shot as well. If there was one paramedic he trusted to get this job done without incident, it was him. "You okay to do this?" he asked.

Steve gave him a tight nod in response. "Absolutely." And it was enough to satisfy the Sergeant.

"You get in and out quickly, alright," he added before moving over to Eddie and standing right behind him in order to watch the scene as it would unfold. Police officers had also been moved close to the bank in shooting position, creating a full line of fire.

Steve pushed through the front doors of the bank, rolling his gurney behind him.

Sam straightened his neck to try and see outside. He caught a quick glimpse of four members of his team and already, it was helping him feel better. He knew they had his back, they would figure out a way to get them out. Again, he cursed at the fact that he wasn't out there to give them a much-needed hand.

The medic stopped walking forward once the doors had closed behind him. Two of the subjects went to search him and his gurney and once they cleared him, he moved over to the man lying on the ground. Crouching down next to him, he gave Sam a quick look and then a formal nod like they usually did around each other. It was no secret they shared love for the same woman. Steve wasn't bitter around Sam because of it however, Jules had made her choice and he would respect that. But it didn't stop him from being envious of Sam's relationship with her. But right now having to do this with each other was better than if he'd been with any other stranger. "How is he doing?"

"Not good," Sam answered. "Name's Josh, he's epileptic and he just had a grand mal seizure," he explained while the Steve checked his vitals.

"Hey Josh," the medic started as Josh opened his eyes slightly, slowly regaining consciousness. He grabbed his hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "I'm Steve, I'm here to help you, alright?" he said in a soothing voice. Josh closed his eyes again and gave the man half a nod. "Just hang in there," Steve added before he looked over at Sam again.

Understanding what the look meant, Sam moved over to Josh's feet while Steve lowered the gurney so the platform was by the ground. He then grabbed the sick man under his shoulders, cupping his back with his arms. Sam held his feet and on three, they moved him over on the gurney. Steve raised it back up and proceeded in strapping him.

He and Sam exchanged a last look and a nod before the medic spun on his heels and rolled the gurney back out.

Sam watched him, again catching a slight glimpse of the outside world, including a nod from Greg before the doors closed back on them, leaving him and the other hostages trapped inside still.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I deeply apologize for the amount of time it took for me to post this chapter. My life has been hectic lately and it's just starting to settle down._

_Random fact: during these hectic times, I ended up witnessing a Grand Mal Seizure and I learned a few things. One: they are freaky when you have no idea what's going on. Two: I could never be a paramedic. And three: I wasn't so far off describing what happened to Josh, and I'm kind of happy about it (because let's face it, I know strictly nothing about them or anything medical. Thank you Google)._

_Anyway, here's the next chapter, hope it was worth the wait! You will hate me for two reasons: the cliffhanger and the shortness of this chapter. Please don't throw stuff at me, next one should be out shortly!_

_Until then, one pissed off Jules with a side of cocky Sam, coming up! _

* * *

Jules checked her watch nervously. It had been 25 minutes since they had made the deal, meaning they had 5 minutes left to get the bus and it was no where near the bank. "Boss…" she started.

"I know, Jules." Greg was back in the command truck by her side. He had made sure Josh had gone to the hospital safely before returning. From what he had managed to see when the front doors had opened and from what he could gather from the surveillance camera that Spike and Raf had implanted, there was no way they could go in there without risking the hostages' lives. Four subjects, armed and apparently dangerous and way too much area to cover with the little vantage they had. Storming in would mean risking the hostages' lives and that wasn't a viable option. Which left them only with the bus solution and try to take them out on the road. But the bus was still 20 minutes away and their deadline was growing near. "We need to buy more time."

Taking a deep breath, Jules rolled the chair closer to the desk and dialled the bank's number.

It answered after a single ring. "Where's my bus?"

Obviously, he was done playing game and he was going straight to the point. Then so would she. "We need more time."

"Julianna, I lived up to my end of the deal, I gave you ten more minutes and I haven't shot anybody yet. Now where's my bus?"

"Yes and I thank you for that. The bus is stuck in traffic, it'll be here in 20 minutes tops. We got you exactly what you wanted, nobody needs to die tod-"

She was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. Heart and body freezing in place, her eyes quickly went over to the screen. Hostages were shaken but none of them had been a victim of the bullet.

"That was a warning shot, officer." Seward moved over to the hostages' group, the phone still to his ear and aiming his weapon at Sam until the barrel of the gun almost touched the blonde's forehead.

Of course, Jules wasn't oblivious to this gesture and she rose from her chair, leaning both hands on the desk in front of her and watching the screen with great intensity.

"No harm, subject is escalating," Greg said for the rest of the team's sake as he moved closer to Jules.

"The next one is for the kill," Seward continued, staring down into Sam's eyes.

Holding his stare, Sam tried to remain as still as possible. He couldn't do anything without risking his own life or any other's, he could only rely on Jules to get the subject to de-escalate.

"Look," Jules started, her teeth gritted, anger taking over. "We do not control traffic. We're giving you exactly what you want, but need twenty more minutes."

"Julianna, I'm holding my gun to your boyfriend's head, you've got one minute-"

"No!" Her voice was stern and she meant no non-sense. "I've got twenty," she added, pressing on every word.

"Jules…" Greg warned softly behind her.

She completely ignored him and continued. "If you fire that gun, you can kiss your freedom goodbye and you can be sure the next fired bullet will be meant for you." She was speaking the truth but she didn't bother to hide the threat in her voice. Screw procedures, screw trying to sweet-talk the subject. This was Sam's life that was at stake. Not only his but a bunch of innocent people's too. She'd been observing him and trying to negotiate for over two hours now, he wasn't buying her playbook. They were probably hired professionals, not some random lowlifes trying to rob a bank to make a few bucks.

The whole team held their breath during the long silence that followed Jules' outburst. Staring at the screen, Jules could see everyone in the bank doing exactly the same while Dr. Seward pondered her words. It was never-ending but she held the silence, it was his turn to fill it.

A smile appeared on his features. Sam kept staring up at him, having a hard time determining what this look of his meant, especially as he couldn't hear the other side of the conversation. "Okay," Seward responded after what seemed like an eternity. "You've got twenty minutes."

As the line died, Jules snatched the earpiece out of her ear as if it would help her completely cut the connection with the subject. She let herself fall back in the chair she had just vacated and brushed her hair back with both hands as the high tension she just had fell down. She'd lost control and she knew it but she figured it had probably been the only way to win some time for the bus to get there without getting anyone shot. Thankfully, it had worked.

Greg regarded her silently. He didn't need to say anything, he could see exactly what was going through her mind.

* * *

"Your girlfriend's a hellcat," Seward told Sam as he crouched down in front of him, a playful smile plastered on his face.

"Yeah, well she's not my girlfriend," he responded even though it was far from the truth, but he didn't want to give him any more leverage. Plus, he didn't want the team to see him acknowledge that in case they were listening.

"What? Too much of a woman for ya?"

* * *

On the earpiece, the team could hear Spike chuckle at that part.

"Spike!" Ed snapped, bringing him back to all the seriousness of their situation.

"Sorry…"

* * *

Sam glared at the man in front of him, letting out a chuckle of his own only his was filled with sarcasm. Seward kept staring at him with satisfaction.

"So what is it you came for, exactly?" Sam asked, deciding to confront him. "Obviously, you're not here for the money, or you wouldn't have left that full vault untouched, especially with all the time you had."

Seward's eyes were narrowing slightly as he listened to the blonde's speculations.

Sam smiled cockily, he liked the effect this had on the man as he knew he was damn right. "You look like professionals but then again, if you were, you wouldn't have pulled that last ticket from the cash registers, you would know that it would trigger an alarm of some sort. Unless of course that was the plan all along." He marked a pause, as if wanting to create a dramatic effect. "But then again, you're not wearing any gloves, so you're probably not in the system, else you'd be worried about fingerprints."

Seward's interest seemed to pick up at that last part but he didn't speak. He simply observed Sam with the ghost of a smile.

"There is one thing I'm not sure to understand however. What the hell is in that safety deposit box? Is that why you need the C4?" he asked. Of course, he already knew the answer to that question but he was mostly aiming for a reaction from the man's part when he would figure out that he was aware of the presence of explosives.

Again, Seward's eyes narrowed slightly but this time, he let out a laugh when the C4 was mentioned. Instead of answering the question, he looked at Sam, slightly amused. "I like you. That's why I'm gonna kill you last."

* * *

"Jules," Greg said, speaking the first word ever since her conversation with Seward ended. He indicated his earpiece with his finger and he frowned slightly, trying to ear what was going on inside the bank.

Jules let out a slight frown too before putting it back on.

"-to evacuate the area immediately!" It was Ed's voice barking out instructions. "Spike, I need your intel on this!"

Clearly, she had missed something important.

"On it!" Spike's voice responded.

Jules eyes shot to Greg and she frowned questioningly.

"Sam mentioned the presence of C4," he explained. "Subject didn't deny it." Then to everyone. "Alright Team One, we have a new matter to deal with, let's get everyone out to safety!"

Without hesitation, Jules went past him and opened the command truck's door, Greg in tow. She squinted slightly at he harsh daylight as she stepped out but rapidly went over to give the officers a hand to back up everyone into a safe area, other officers, EMS and civilians included.

* * *

The whole hostage group had gone back to silence under the subject's last threat to kill Sam last. Obviously, it meant he planned on killing them all first which obviously didn't help calm them down. Sam figured it had to be empty threats just to keep control over them. Although he had to admit it was working rather well.

"Dr. Seward."

Seward looked over at his partner who held up a mobile phone in his hand.

"We're good to go," his partner said.

A smile crept up on Seward's face and he moved back to the group of hostages. "Alright, everybody up on your feet," he said before giving his partners an unspoken sign. Two of them moved closer to the group while the hostages stood cautiously.

Sam defiantly stood in front of Seward, keeping his eyes on him. The lady subject handed him a pile of thin white plastic straps Sam recognized as zip ties.

"Hands," he ordered, going for Sam first while the others gave the rest of the hostages the same treatment.

Reluctantly, he brought his hands forward, holding his fists against one another. Seward passed the tie around them and pulled, securing his wrists together.

"What are you gonna do?" Sam asked as his eyes never left Seward's.

The latter gave the tie another swift pull, making the plastic dig into Sam's wrist. The blonde's nose curled up in a slight wince.

"You're clever. You figure it out."

* * *

After making sure the perimeter around the bank was secure and that people were standing far enough from it, Ed had gone back into position in front of the main entrance along with Spike and Raf.

Jules and Greg were making their way back to the command truck. The bus was due to arrive within the next 5 minutes, they needed to come up with a strategy. However, something was bothering Jules. She hesitated to mention it but she figured her gut feeling couldn't be ignored in a situation like this one. She slowed down her pace a little, thinking back on the arrangement she had with the subject. "Isn't there something wrong with this picture?" she asked the Greg, voicing her thoughts. "I mean I asked for 20 more minutes and he gave them to me without asking anything in return…"

They both knew negotiations weren't usually that easy, especially when they seemed to be dealing with trained professionals like these guys. Greg didn't really have an explanation either. They reached the command truck and while Greg climbed the first step and pulled on the door, he spoke. "Maybe the bus is just another distrac-"

His thought was interrupted by the loud sound of an explosion coming from both the bank and their earpieces.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: As promised, here's the next chapter! Didn't want to keep you waiting for too long after the last. Hope you all enjoy!_

* * *

The whole team winced at the pain the loud sound directly in their ear caused but it was just as quickly forgotten as all of their heads snapped towards the building. Soon, smoke was coming out in waves. With them working to put up a secure perimeter and dealing with civilians, they had failed to notice that the sound coming from the bank had gone awfully quiet in their earpieces. Until now.

Jules couldn't help but stare at the building in awe. In a split second, her mind went crazy with the possibilities of what happened inside the bank, of what happened to Sam. Her heart made a flip in her chest at the thought that this might be her fault. She'd lost her temper over the phone and the subject had given her what she wanted without asking anything in return. But what if it was only a way to satisfy the SRU before blowing up all of the hostages and show them who was in charge? She suddenly felt sick in her stomach. Had she killed all these people with her outburst? Had she killed the man she loved? She forced those thoughts away when Spike quickly ran past her and gave her rough pat on the shoulder to get her to move, they still had a job to do.

"Alright Team let's move in!" Ed yelled for them to hear as their ears were still buzzing from the loudness of the explosion. It was really out of habit because all five of them were already running in that direction.

Ed was the first one in, followed closely by Raf and Spike who had been on his tow the whole time. The smoke was making their visibility little to none. They went in carefully, clearing the area as they could. It seemed like the bomb had exploded further away since the front registers seemed almost undisturbed even though dust had covered the whole area. The smoke dissipated slightly, enabling them to see better. Jules and Greg had reached their side and Ed gave them a few signs for them to fan out and clear the whole bank. He and Jules took the back and soon, they could hear coughs.

"Sam?" Jules called out, unable to hold it back anymore. She needed to make sure he was alright. They moved closer to the sound of the coughs and after receiving no answer, Jules' heart picked up another beat. "Sam!?" she called out again, a hint of panic peering through her voice.

"Over here."

She could definitely say she had never been more glad to hear his voice, even though it sounded a bit hoarse due to the smoke he'd been inhaling. The two officers reached one of the vaults and could see the hostages had all been placed inside, their hands bound in front of them with zip ties. They were sitting against the walls, some of them coughing, others looking up at them both with relief.

Opening the metal bars that served as the vault's door, Jules stepped inside quickly. She gave Sam a quick look over. He seemed fine. She was dying to go to him first but she knew better. Their eyes met for a moment, a silent exchange let them know they were both going to be fine. She was going to hold him in her arms soon and after fearing to lose him, she was dying to tell him how much she loved him.

She forced herself to tear her eyes away from him and soon spotted the pregnant teller. "We need EMS in the back of the bank right now!" she urged as she moved towards the woman and crouched down in front of her. She holstered her weapon and took out a pocket knife, cutting the zip tie. "Hey, I'll get you out of here, alright. Can you stand?" she asked and the woman nodded. Giving her a hand, Jules supported her weight and together they moved to the front of the bank where a medic was already waiting for them. "She's pregnant, get her out fast," Jules instructed before going back to the vault.

Greg had joined Ed and they were both cutting everyone loose, including Sam. Before Jules could go to him, however, Spike and Raf appeared and picked their attention, prying them to leave the group's side so they could discuss freely while the medics and the other officers brought all of the hostages out to safety. Sam followed along, more than glad to be back with his team.

"There's no sign of forced exit, all the doors are still locked and the building is surrounded, they couldn't have left without being noticed," Spike explained, earning many frowns from the team. "And huh…" He hesitated. "We've got body parts."

"We think they might've blown themselves up trying to use the C4 as an exit strategy," Raf added.

They all exchanged a few looks of misunderstanding. Greg broke the silence. "I thought C4 was one of the most stable explosives."

"It is, it shouldn't go off accidentally," Spike simply responded, leaving them lingering on what could have happened.

There was another short silence, this time Jules broke it. "It makes no sense."

"These guys weren't terrorists, they were here for something," Sam continued with their train of thought. "They wouldn't have gone through all that trouble to blow themselves up and not take anyone along with them."

"Unless someone else triggered it." All of their heads shot over to Ed as he spoke. "Remote detonator, timing gone wrong…?" he proposed.

"It's a possibility." Spike.

"But was it an accident or was it the plan all along…?" Greg's words made everyone thoughtful.

Again, they grew silent. These subjects might have been the bad guys in this, but it was still four lives they had just lost. If they had been blown up, it meant they couldn't get IDs and since their faces had remained covered with surgical masks through the whole hostage situation, they couldn't be identified with the images from their camera.

Ed rubbed his face and then moved his hand over his bald head like he usually did when something was upsetting him as he contemplated that thought. There were pieces missing in this whole deal.

* * *

The team had gone back out of the building when they had made sure the medics had taken all of the hostages out safely. Most of them were in shock, they were being attended to and checked out, however none seemed to need intense medical care, they would probably all save themselves the trouble of going to the hospital. Which wasn't a bad thing, hospitals were depressing enough as it was, and they probably all needed to be with their families.

Jules let all of the guys go ahead of her and she followed behind Sam. Once all of the others were a bit further away, she quickly caught up with him and grabbed his arm. "Sam," she said, stopping him in his motion.

He turned to her quickly, hearing the worry in her voice. Again, only speaking his name could tell him exactly how she felt. Truth was he had been dying to hold her in his arms as soon as the gunmen stormed in the bank just to assure her that everything would be fine even though he was the one caught up in the bad situation. It had been a long couple of hours. Now that he was facing her and that they were both safe and sound, it took a lot of will not to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight.

His eyes fell on hers. They conveyed a lot of concern, so much he didn't feel he really deserved. It took a moment before she spoke. "Are you alright?" she finally asked after a moment, her hand still holding onto his arm.

"I'm perfectly fine," he responded in a soft voice, lowering his head slightly to bring them an inch closer to each other.

She could honestly say she believed him. He was strong, she had seen him in there and he held it all together like no one else would have. And without wanting to sound vain, she had a thought that part of him being fine was because he stood right in front of her. She could also admit that it was part of what made her feel fine too.

"You?" he asked after moment, knowing she had been the one to negotiate.

They stared at each other in silence and Jules let out a small smile. "Yeah I'm good," she said with a nod. She marked a short pause and the left corner of her mouth rose slightly. "The Morse code, that was clever," she said, a little pride for her man showing through her smirk.

Sam smirked back at her in the same kind of expression. "That was clever of you to figure it out," he responded.

"How do you know _I_ did?" she challenged with a soft frown, her smile letting him know he was right already.

He gave a soft shrug. "I just do," he answered. There was a silent cocky exchange between them too, filled with some sort of electricity. Again, it took all of Sam's will not to grab her and kiss her right there before dragging her back home to escape all of this mess for the comfort of her warmth. But he knew better and he knew he couldn't afford to show any more affection for her than what he could give her now. Yet, the look they were giving each other was full of promises for what was to come later.

"Guys!"

Both their head snapped towards the command truck at once. Their loving bubble had been quickly burst by Greg motioning for them to join the rest of the team. Under their boss' look, they didn't even dare give each other a knowing glance before making their way over to the other members of Team One. They had already been busted by their Sergeant the previous week and had claimed that nothing would change, they had to keep him convinced of that still.

As they approached, Greg looked at them both in turn but remained silent before he gave the whole team a quick glance. As he turned his back on them, Sam and Jules did exchange a look this time before quickly concentrating back on the matter at hand.

"We managed to get this situation settled but it wasn't completely on our terms," Greg stated. Jules looked down slightly, maybe if she had been able to negotiate better this wouldn't have happened. "We have four casualties," Greg continued, "and we still can't explain why it happened." Seeing Jules' expression, Greg paused and made a mental note to speak to her later. She had done well in his opinion, had she not been romantically involved with Sam, she wouldn't have done any better. "Now we don't have any positive ID on those four subjects and it turns out it won't be easier now. This situation is not resolved until we get more answers. Maybe there's still someone out there pulling strings and planning something even bigger, we need to be vigilant."

"Boss," Winnie interjected in their earpieces. They all stopped and listened except for Sam who still didn't have his talkie. He shot the others a look, Greg held his finger up to tell him to hold on a second. "I managed to make a few calls on the Pearson file. I made a background check on relatives, found out the couple had a daughter and a grandson who both died in a car accident a year ago."

Tragic, but so far nothing odd to report. Greg rose a brow slightly as he waited for her to carry on, knowing that she had something more if she had to make some calls to gather information.

"However, it turns out they faked their deaths," she continued and Greg nodded slowly. That's where she had to pull some strings to get answers. "The daughter, Mary Donnelly, was married to an abusive husband who used to beat her and threatened to take their son away. She filed a report but the system failed her and justice let her husband free so she had to find another solution."

"What about the husband?" Ed asked as he was just as drawn by her words as they all were. Sam was frowning at them all as they exchanged looks, not understanding what they were being told.

"Gerald Donnelly. He's an ex-marine. Served two tours in Afghanistan, another in Iraq until he was honourably discharged two years ago under request of the doctor. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic epilepsy after suffering a brain injury during an attack. Sending a picture to your PDAs."

As they all got their PDAs' out, Sam took a step towards Jules to peak over her shoulder. She froze at the picture. "Oh my god…" she said under her breath as she recognized him from the cameras.

Sam frowned. "That's Josh," he said matter-of-factly. "What's going on?" he asked as he hadn't heard Winnie filling them in. They all gave him a quick glance but none answered his question for now.

"That's the guy we sent to the hospital," Greg explained for Winnie's sake. "Where is he now?" he asked.

"Don't know yet. I put an APB on him."

"Thanks Winnie, keep us posted if you have anything else."

"Copy."

Ed had already taken his phone out and was dialling a number. He started pacing as he waited for the line to pick up.

Sam was starting to put the pieces together. Jules held the PDA up to show him the image. "Meet Gerald Donnelly. Former marine mercenary, son-in-law of the lady who owned safety deposit box 178."

"Owned?" Sam repeated, not failing to pick up on the past tense. "What happened to her?" he asked, not liking where this was going.

"She was killed last week in her apartment. Place had been trashed down," Greg explained. He shook his head slightly as he too was starting to see the puzzle as a whole. He took his cap off for a moment, scratching his head thoughtfully before settling it back on.

Ed shut the phone and pocketed it. "He's gone," he announced. "He's been discharged from the hospital after they controlled the seizure and gave him some medication."

The whole team grew silent. They had let the only man responsible for all of this out of the bank and away safely.

Sam pursed his lips. How could he have not seen this? He had tried to bond with the man and get him to calm down, he had gotten him a pass to the hospital after his seizure. The perfect escape plan.

Greg turned to look at Sam. "Have you seen him take something, talk to the subjects?" he asked.

Sam thought for a moment and shook his head. "He was with the group the whole time, he acted just like any other hostage…" Something crossed his mind and he gave a slight frown. "No wait," he said, amending his own words. "He went to the bathroom at some point. His seizure happened not long after that."

"Might have taken some medication to force the seizure," Jules proposed.

"What was it he wanted in this bank if he left without a single dime?" Raf asked with a brow raised.

"Something about the deposit box…" Ed voiced the thought they had all been sharing. Jules looked up at him.

Raf frowned slightly. "But why did he need out before the others? Why not escape along with them?"

"Why blow them up?" Spike added.

"Because he needed to stall us," Greg answered. "He needed to get a head start."

"To what?" This time, the question came from Sam. All of the others had done the math but since he had missed Winnie's part of the conversation, he couldn't comprehend the extent of it all.

"To get to his wife and kid." Greg paused and shook his head slowly. "The safety deposit box," he continued, letting out a slight frown as if an idea crossed his mind. "Winnie, we need an address for Mary Donnelly."

"On it," she responded quickly.

"Boss?" Jules asked, seeing the change in his expression.

Greg took a breath and looked over at her. "The safety deposit box was a means of communication," he started, explaining his thought. "Between Mary Donnelly and her mother. She couldn't cut all of the ties with her former life, especially not with her mother. This was their only way to communicate."

Jules was starting to put the pieces together. "We saw only the couple accessed it monthly, except that Mr. Pearson has been dead four years…" she continued with his train of thought.

"Meaning someone was posing as the dead husband and acting as a middle man for Mary and her son."

"Because she couldn't risk making the drops herself."

The other four men's heads were moving between Greg and Jules in a manner of watching a Tennis match as the two profilers exchanged their thoughts and put up the most plausible picture of this situation. None of them interrupted their train of thought, especially since they were onto something.

Greg continued. "Gerald Donnelly must have suspected they faked their deaths. He found out from Mrs. Pearson before he killed her and stole her key to access the safety deposit box."

Again, Jules finished his thought. "And now he has all the information he needs to find where his wife is living with their son and claim back what he has lost…"

"Winnie?" This time, it was Ed's turn to urge her.

"Working on it!" she quickly responded.

Ed then turned to Sam. "Suit up, we'll need all of our forces once we find him."

"Copy," Sam simply said before darting towards the command truck.


End file.
